New Species Series | Laurann Dohner

My Soul to Take | Madeline Sheehan

When Trinity escaped a worldwide apocalyptic plague in the arms of Gerik, a Scandinavian Gypsy, she never imagined they would be soul mates . . . or what that even meant. Xan showed Trinity that love could save her from the seemingly unbreakable ties she had to Gerik . . . or so she thought.

After a brutal attack on camp and being abandoned outside of the wards, Trinity, now possessing her own - and very unstable - magical powers, is left to her own devices surrounded by Skin Eaters and all other dangers of the unknown.

Now, Trinity is alone. Having no idea where her husband, her soul mate, or the Popa Clan are, Trinity is forced to discover her powers on her own.

On a journey full of self-discovery, chance encounters, unwelcome news, and enlightenment, Trinity is fighting for survival in a world where the only thing certain is death.

The Soul Mate | Madeline Sheehan

Trinity had an ordinary life. That is, until she barely escaped a worldwide apocalyptic plague that took her loved ones from her and transformed most of humanity into flesh-eating monsters.

Gerik, her savior, a six-foot-four-inch Scandinavian Gypsy, takes her back to his magically protected Gypsy camp where she discovers a whole new way of life that she never knew existed – as well as a whole new set of problems.

Gerik has power over her that she cannot begin to understand, and she is convinced he is using his magic on her. Through her journey of trying to understand her feelings and this new magic-filled life she’s been brought into, she begins an unlikely friendship that grows into having potential to be something more.

While the remaining humans are fighting for their survival, Trinity is fighting a battle of her very own – the right to choose her own destiny.

Is Gerik’s hold on her too strong? Or can new love set her free?

Mindtouch | M.C.A. Hogarth

Seersana University is worlds-renowned for its xenopsychology program, producing the Alliance's finest therapists, psychiatric nurses and alien researchers. When Jahir, one of the rare and reclusive Eldritch espers, arrives on campus, he's unprepared for the challenges of a vast and multicultural society... but fortunately, second-year student Vasiht'h is willing to take him under his wing. Will the two win past their troubles and doubts and see the potential for a once-in-a-lifetime partnership? 

Vicious | V. E. Schwab

A masterful, twisted tale of ambition, jealousy, betrayal, and superpowers, set in a near-future world.

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end? 

Masters of Blood and Bone | Craig Saunders

Holland's a man who's good with death. Good at death.

When his daughter goes missing, he finds himself pitted in a deadly game against the Gods themselves. Powerful enemies surround him—a changeling, a mage, and a god who wants to destroy the world.

With silver bullets in his gun and death on his mind, Holland aims to set things right...or die trying.

For the captors of Holland’s daughter, death is not only on it’s way, it’s in their very possession as Holland's daughter isn't just a girl...in fact, she's barely mortal at all...

She's Ankou, Death's daughter, and she's not an easy mark.

The battleground has been set, the world’s at stake, and all Hell is about the break loose.

Masters of Blood and Bone is an epic clash between good and evil, life versus death, Gods against mortals, a timeless story of power and corruption and one man’s pursuit to protect what he loves at any cost.

Balancing Karma | id_locke

Balancing Karma 
By: id_locke

Status: COMPLETE
Approx. Word Count: 193,825

LGBT, fantasy, sci-fi, unpublished

Karma has it in for Moswen. Trouble follows him around like a demented, faithful dog. Moswen never means for things to happen the way they do. It just does. And while things may seem bad at first, everything eventually works out for the best even if the road to getting there is a less than a smooth ride.

While fleeing his sister's wrath for an accident that was almost not his fault, Moswen stumbles upon the chance to crash what promises to be a fun party.

Kijika is hopeful that the birthday bash for his grandfather, the current king, won't be the deadly boring event he's sure it will be and he'd much rather be pouring over ancient texts in his quest for knowledge. Moswen's karma swings into action and Moswen and Kijika cross paths at the party setting in motion a relationship that will give both men what they most desire.

I can't help but praise this book. It was definitely a long one and I was completely immersed in it the entire time.  

Kijika is half Vylfian and half Naemo. Not only a prince, but also a necromancer. Moswen is from the planet Awh’an. He is a Shal-hazal spirit, an ambassador and a dream walker and thus can physically move from one place to another.

This story is purely about Kijika and Moswen and how Moswen's unpredictable karma seems to pull everyone around him in. This story is fun, light hearted, humorous, and there's drama to keep you entertained. The world building is beautifully done. The author intertwined the three unique species,
culture, and magic wonderfully.

I do have to say that Moswen's ability to dream walk was never really explained, as well as the other Awh'anise abilities. I didn't understand how he was able to dream walk to Kijika's world. It was all ambiguous.

There are also other side stories and other Awh'anise pairings that can be checked out on id_locke's livejournal. These stories do have to be read online, but it was definitely worth the read. Highly recommended. 

Rating: ★★★★★

Content Advisory: This book is intended for mature audiences and contains explicit sexual activity. 

Grim | M.K. Eidem

King Grim Vasteri is the strongest and most feared warrior in the Tornian Empire. He is the King of Luda, blood brother to the Emperor and his line will die with him. He will have no offspring for no female would join with him for once he was scarred he was considered 'unfit'. The Tornian Empire has been dying ever since the great infection caused the birth of females to become a rarity. Since then they have been searching the known universes for compatible females. The Emperor's discovery of a compatible female on a slave ship changed that. He'd ordered Grim to find his Empress' home world so more 'unprotected' females could be obtained, knowing Grim would never be allowed to Join with one.

Lisa Miller is a widowed mother of two little girls, Carly and Miki. Her husband died just a year ago, after a long battle with cancer and she misses him immensely. Friends want her to start dating again but in her heart, she knows there isn't a man on the planet she could love like her Mark. Who could love their girls like their own. Therefore, she'll stay alone.
When Lisa is discovered 'unprotected' at her husband's grave, she wakes on an alien ship heading for an alien world. Refusing to accept this she confronts the large males, demanding she be returned to her children. Seeing his chance to have a female, Grim agrees to accept and protect her offspring, if she agrees to Join with him and only him. Realizing this is the only way she can retrieve her children Lisa agrees and the Tornian Empire changes forever.

Burn | T.J. Klune

Elementally Evolved #1

By: T.J. Klune

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Date Published: Feb 5, 2012

Pages 370
ISBN 10: 1613723555

Fantasy, science fiction, LGBT

Book One of the Elementally Evolved series Set in a world that closely resembles our own, Burn is a story of redemption and betrayal, of family and sacrifice, which leads to the greatest question of all: how far would you go to save the ones you love? Fifteen years ago, Felix Paracel killed his mother with fire that shot from his hands. Since then, he has hidden from forces bent on exploiting him and his fire and wind Elemental abilities. But Felix's world is about to change, because he is Findo Unum-the Split One-and his coming has been foretold for generations. Though Felix's arrival brings great joy to the Elemental world, it also heralds a coming darkness. No one knows this better than Seven.-Seven, the mysterious man who rescued Felix from that horrible fire years ago and then disappeared; Seven, who has returned to claim what's rightfully his: Felix's heart. But even as Felix begins to trust Seven and his feelings about his place in the world, the darkness reveals itself, bringing consequences no one could have predicted.

I've had this book on my kindle since last year and I finally got around to it. This was one long book. The first 40% of the book went by pretty quick. I was quite absorbed and stayed up reading as much as I could. The remainder was harder to get through. It was just too long. There was one part where we saw Seven's past. I'm all for getting to know characters better, but in this case it outstretched my patience. I ended up scanning quite a bit of it to get it over with as quick and painlessly as possible.

Felix, the average main character annoyed me with some of the decisions he made, he was petulant, and somewhat selfish. At the same time you couldn't hate him. He tries to make the right decisions, to be the savior everyone was waiting for, but lack of knowledge put him at a disadvantage. Seven, was a definite alpha male and unconditionally devoted to Felix. Seven's role was to be the Findo Unum's protector. He was raised to fulfill this role and was trained since young. The minor character's were great. Each had their own distinct personality and roles within the universe.

There's quite the dilemma of the United States trying to pass a bill, which requires the Elementals to register themselves, since they are a danger and uncontrollable. Essentially this is their scheme to experiment and eventually control the Elementals. This sets the scene nicely for the Normals vs. Elementals. There's also the coming darkness that Felix must overcome.

Overall, there were parts I enjoyed and others that just tried my patience. The concept of it was fascinating, but the narration could use some editing. There was no conclusion as it was only the first book. I would most likely read the rest of the series to satisfy my curiosity of the conclusion. Although book one did seem a little predictable.

Rating: ★★★☆☆